DANGEROUS DRUG APPEARS IN NEW ENGLAND

DPH issued a notice on Monday about the presence of Carfentanil in New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island, and urged Massachusetts caregivers to be both on the lookout for cases involving it and to use caution.

Carfentanil is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and is used as an anesthetic for large animals, such as elephants. Two milligrams of it (about the size of Lincoln’s beard on a penny) can be lethal. People who OD on it can be treated with Naloxone but generally need repeated doses of it. Because it is so lethal in such small quantities, caregivers who encounter Carfentanil while treating patients should exercise extreme caution. This notice from the DEA gives more information about the dangerous drug.